the 941

Old Heidelberg Cafe and Pastry Shop

3.5 stars
1533 State St., Sarasota, 822-0641 or oldheidelberg.net

The signs were up on the State Street spot for months, teasing me every weekend as I walked to the farmer’s market. A new bakery in a town that’s basically been struggling along with just a few places to get fantastic pastry and bread! Even better, it’s just a block away from C’Est La Vie. I couldn’t wait.

Turns out, Old Heidelberg is worth the wait. The bakery has been in existence for over 30 years, most of that in Colorado Springs under German-transplant Karl Schoenberger. After a stint in Europe to get some classical training under his belt, Schoenberger Jr. took over the family business in 1988. After so long in the mountains, why Sarasota?

“The last couple of winters out there just got to me,” explained Schoenberg Jr. “And my wife’s family is all up and down Florida. We kind of picked a spot in the middle.” The couple flew to Florida earlier this year to scout locations, and immediately felt a connection with Sarasota.

Old Heidelberg’s focus is on pastries, with multiple display cabinets filled with everything from glistening fruit tarts to strudel. The classics are exceptional, like decadent cheese strudel and French apple puff pastries with a great balance of tart and sweet. Linzer and sacher tortes are in the case, along with a mountain of delicate, detailed marzipan fruit. Almost everything will leave crumbs down your shirt that you’ll be seeking out and popping in your mouth.

No matter how good the pastries, Schoenberg’s passion is cakes. During the summer months in Colorado, he’d routinely provide 15-18 cakes a week to local, high-end resorts for weddings, and he talks wistfully of some of the odder design requests that taxed his creativity.

That side of the business has yet to grow, but there’s ample advertising in the shop thanks to plates of sample slices. Schoenberg has dozens of flavor and filling options available for order, along with numerous ready-to-go cakes in the cases.

Old Heidelberg also serves some basic lunch staples, but stay away from the stripped-down sandwiches made on the shop’s own bread. German sausage and frankfurters are a better choice, but only as a convenient excuse if your real goal is a tasty lunchtime dessert pastry. The only savory option worth a special trip is Schoenberg’s take on German potato salad, served cold and loaded with smoky bacon and a bright hint of vinegar.

I’ll probably still head to C’Est La Vie for my inevitable post-farmer’s market pastry, but it looks like they’ll be seeing me on alternate weeks, thanks to Old Heidelberg.

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